Resolutions
by Madame Band Geek
Summary: AU It's New Year's Eve, and some friends are coming together to celebrate it. But, the year is not over yet. Raven and Gar still haven't told each other what they've felt towards each other since high school and that would be love. Oneshot. BBR, more pair


Resolutions

_ Used as a flashback_

_ BB/Rae, Rob/Star, Slight Cy/Jinx. AU._

* * *

Twenty-one year old Rachel "Raven" Roth sat inside her car, contemplating never coming out.

She toyed with a dangling topaz earring- a gift from Kori, and glared at the raging blizzard outside.

If Garfield Mark Logan thought that she was getting out of her car to join some stupid party, he was beyond help.

Just thinking about him, her heart fluttered.

Raven cursed aloud, glancing up at her reflection in the rearview mirror.

Tendrils of long black hair spilled down her shoulders, and shining deep blue eyes peered up at her.

She vowed that Gar was going to hear about this; he knew she doesn't like parties.

A ghost of a smile graced her face, as she remembered what it was like back in high school. It was then, at the bumbling age of fifteen, she'd finally fallen head-over-heels in love with Gar.

She kept it a secret from all of them, finally telling Kori the night before graduation.

She probably still had hearing damage from that night, too.

Raven laughed.

She sobered, and settled back against the head rest, figuring she could get some sleep...

When at that moment, a pair of hands began drumming on her hood.

Startled, Raven jolted up, and looked into the mischievouseyes of Garfield Logan for the first time in two months.

His face broke out into a smile, as he ran up to the driver's window. She rolled it down, snow blowing in her face.

"C'mon Rae, it's New Year's Eve! We have to party!"

"And, I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that you need a date for this one?" She raised an accusing eyebrow.

"Aw, Rae," He pawed at the door, "Just come inside, will ya?"

Raven rolled her eyes, but opened the door nonetheless. "All right, I'll come in."

Gar grinned wider, and Raven felt her stomach dancing again. She eyed the sidewalk warily.

"Is there ice there?" She asked.

"Yeah, what of it?"

Raven swung her feet to rest on the asphalt, still sitting in driver's seat. "I just happen to be wearing heels, and since I don't want to be careening across the ice tonight…"

She looked at himreproachfully,and stood up, planning to hug him goodbye and hide at her mother's until tomorrow.

"I understand completely." Gar said solemnly, nodding his head.

"Really? Thanks. Gar I-"

Raven was cut off by the surprise of Gar scooping her up in his arms, and walking to the front door.

He set her down.

"Happy?"

She glared. "That did not go as planned," she growled.

"Rachel, Rachel, Rachel," Gar shook his head, grinning ridiculously. "I know you too well."

"You just called me Rachel!"

Gar never heard her surprised sentence, because the door was opened, and both were greeted by the babble that awaitedthem.

Gar pushed her inside, just like a teenager. She glared at him, also a teenager.

She was swarmed by Garth and Roy, who immediatelyrushed over to compliment Raven on her dress.

"Thanks, guys." She smiled.

She knew that she didn't have to worry about them, because they were too wrapped up in each other to care.

Meanwhile, Gar was greeting Victor Stone. "Hey!"

Vic turned around, a pink haired woman on his arm, and they both smiled. "Gar!" He yelled back, only adding to the hubbub.

"Remember," the pink haired woman reminded Gar before he could say anything, "My name is still Jinx."

"Naw, it can't be!" Gar clapped his hands together, "You two are together now, right?"

Jinx flushed deeply, and Vic's eye twitched.

Gar's mouth made an 'O' shape, and he hurried off to the kitchen to see how Rich was faring.

"Hey, Richie!" But Raven had beat him to it.

Richard Grayson looked up at them from behind h'orderves. "Wouldja stop calling me that?" He complained.

"But you don't complain when Kori calls you that!" Gar interjected, now ducking the oven mitts being hurled at him.

"But she is my fiancée!" Rich yelled back.

Gar's head popped up from behind the kitchen counter.

"You're _fiancée_!"

Rich turned fifteen different shades of magenta, and mumbled, "I'm asking her tonight."

"CONGRATULATIONS, BUDDY!" Gar leaped towards Rich, only remembering too late that he was a martial arts national champion.

As Raven walked into the kitchen, in search of something to drink, she saw Gar in a headlock.

"Evening, Rich." She nodded her head, grabbed a glass, helped herself to some water, and began walking out.

"Rae!" Gar wheezed after her, "Some help here?"

Raven's eyes narrowed, "Garfield Logan, you know perfectly well I don't like being called Rae."

Rich released Gar, who started massaging his throat.

"You may not, but I do."

Raven glided out of the kitchen, her ankles wobbling at bit in her heels.

Gar was there to steady her arm in a heartbeat.

"Easy, there." He said softly, "We don't want you falling, do we?"

"No, we don't." Raven agreed, and took her arm back.

She went to find Kori before anyone could hear her heartbeat, or see her brilliantly pink face.

Gar stared after her, watching her go.

Rich rolled his eyes. "Did you at least tell her yet?"

Gar shook his head, and turned around to face his friend.

"I wanted to before the year was over, but…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

"The year's not over yet!" Rich clapped his friend on the back. "So go get 'em!"

Gar walked confidently to the living room.

* * *

"…and since our colleges are only fourty minutes away from each other, we see each other every other weekend." Raven downed her water, talking to Karen, aka, "Bee".

"That's great for you!" Bee said, "So, did you tell him yet?"

Raven nearly choked on an olive.

"No." She coughed, "And I don't plan to."

Bee rolled her eyes. "He's never gonna know if you don't tell him!"

"And I plan to keep it that way."

"What do you plan to keep, Raven?" Gar's arms encircled her waist, catching her off guard.

"I… I…" Raven stammered, as Bee laughed hysterically.

Gar nuzzled her ear, and Raven said, "Gar, what are you doing?"

He responded, without missing a beat, "Enjoying myself."

"Hey Raven," Gar whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

"What?" She whispered back.

"Rich told me that he's proposing tonight."

Raven's eyes widened. "That's incredible!"

Gar spun her around to face him. "Remember when we were seventeen?"

Someone had started the music, and Gar took her hand to dance.

"When, Homecoming or the Prom?"

"Nah, it was the day before the last day of school." Gar's grip tightened on her waist.

Raven's face colored.

"_Ha! I gotcha!" A seventeen-year-old Gar Logan triumphantly shouted, tackling Raven to the ground._

"_Fine, you win." Raven's head rested on the ground, and she inhaled the scent of summer._

_Gar'sface came closer, and__Raven's heart was speeding up in her chest-_

"It was right before Rich 'fessed up." Gar said. "Remember?"

"Yeah. I remember."

Raven was strangely disappointed. She had thought- no, hoped- that Gar was talking about their almost-kiss among the grass, in Rich's front lawn.

"I wonder if Vic is going to have to nudge him again." Gar laughed, desperate for her to talk.

She gave a small noise of acknowledgement.

They danced for a little while, and sat together when dinner was served. When Gar learned over Raven to pass the salt to Roy, she could help but remember what he looked like at the beach that summer.

_**

* * *

**_

Raven and Kori sat on the stairs, whispering like they were fifteen again.

"Rachel, have you told Garfield yet?"

Raven sighed, and said, "Do you know that you're the fifth person to ask me that tonight?"

Kori's eyes saddened. "Raven, friend… I think very much that he feels the same way."

"He couldn't." Raven's eyes were suddenly filled with tears. "I've been so mean to him, even back when I was twelve, and I wasn't in love with him."

"Perhaps he saw it as playful banter?" Kori offered.

Raven snorted bitterly.

"Fat chance."

Kori's arm draped around her friend's shoulders. "Raven, you have to tell him tonight."

Raven's heart sped up, but not in the good way.

"But what it- what if- he doesn't like me back?"

"Raven, are you stupid?" Kori asked, shaking her friend.

She repositioned herself so that her hands were on Raven's shoulders, and she was staring into her eyes.

Oh, how Kori longed to tell Raven the truth, but she had promised Gar, at sixteen.

And Kori always kept her word.

"What if he doesn't like you back-" Raven flinched, "But loves you back instead?"

The question seemed to tear Raven out of her despair.

"Thanks, Kori."

Both friends hugged.

"Kori, I'll stay until a little after midnight. I made a promise to myself to finish the book next year."

"Marvelous!"

"And," Raven continued, "If I don't get the courage to tell him, I'll show him."

"You mean…"

"Yes, I dedicated the book to him. I have the page already typed. I could show him what I have so far."

"Great," and as Kori opened her mouth to tell Raven something, Rich called up the stairwell.

"Come on, you'll miss the pie!"

"As long as Kori didn't make it, it's okay with me!" Gar cried, dashing past.

Kori let out a squeal of indignation,Rich glared after him, and Raven laughed, doubled over.

* * *

Twenty-five eyes were on the televison screen.

It was 11:40, and almost 2006.

"I can't believe it. The New Year is almost here." Kori whispered, and squeezed Rich's hand.

The clock ticked 11:41.

"Kori…" Rich began, "Kori Anders…"

"Rich?" Kori's voice held a worried tone to it.

Gar grasped Raven's hand. "This is it!" He whispered excitingly, and she squeezed his hand in reply.

"My new year's resolution is to finish that roof!" A man on the television exclaimed, and the people around him in Times Square laughed.

"My new year's resolution is…" Vic trailed off, but then grabbed Jinx by the wrists, "To be with you, baby!"

He cut off her startled gasp with a kiss.

Everyone in the room whooped.

They broke the kiss, and Jinx grinned dazedly. "He beat me to it." She admitted, linking her arm with his.

Roy and Garth laughed, and told everyone they planned to start a fashion line together.

As everyone shared their resolutions, Raven found the courage slipping away.

The coverage on Time's Square went to a commercial break, and before everyone could go to get drinks, Rich declared:

"Nobody move!"

Everyone stopped.

"Kori," Rich began, and took a deep, calming breath.

"Yes, Rich?"

Rich glanced to above the mantel, where Vic had hidden a video camera. Rich glared.

The theme music came back, and our faces turned back to the screen.

The host came back, and said "This comes out from our television audience."

Vic, Gar and I all turned to gape at Rich.

"He didn't," I whispered.

"I think he did."

The camera panned back to reveal a crowd of people- from Wayne Enterprises- forming the words, and saying them too:

"KORI WILL YOU MARRY ME?" They all shouted at once.

Kori shrieked, and started to slump to the floor.

Gar ran to get the smelling salts, but Kori woke up before then.

"I will marry you, Richard Grayson!" She shouted, and launched herself onto Rich, who looked completely taken aback.

Gar dropped the salts onto the drink table.

Raven felt a lump growing in her throat, but not of happiness for her friend.

Instead, she felt like she would never, ever have that with Gar.

Raven wobbled out of the room, past the kissing couple. She watched as Rich slid the diamond onto Kori's finger, and she knew she couldn't take it any longer.

She burst outside, snow still coming down. She shivered, whishing she had taken her coat.

She started to walk to her car, just down the street, when she heard the door open and close behind her.

"Raven! Raven!"

Raven's throat constricted. Gar was following her.

Raven walked faster, slipping a bit on ice.

"RAVEN!" Gar shouted, and ran to catch her before she fell.

With Gar's warm arms around her waist, Raven thought she might lose her head and kiss him there and then.

"That would have been a nasty fall." He told her, steadying her the street.

Raven nodded, and swallowed painfully.

"Are you okay?" Gar asked, keeping the fear out of his voice.

He was afraid that she was upset that Rich was marrying Kori.

Raven shook her head, finally decided to be honest with him.

Gar took her in his arms, holding her close.

She let out a ragged breath, shivering a bit.

"You should have taken your coat." He mused.

"Gar…" She faltered.

"I've been I love with you since I was fifteen."

Gar's eyes widened.

His dream was coming true.

"And I didn't want to tell you, because I am so afraid that you'd reject me, and now, six years later, I've still kept it a secret.

A countdown began to sound from Vic's house.

Gar released her, and tears built in Raven's eyes.

Gar softly wiped them from her face.

"Don't cry." He said softly, "Please don't cry, Rae…"

Raven tearfully looked up into his eyes, and was about to get lost in them.

"Don't cry, because I love you, too."

But that was before he completely took both of them by surprise, and kissed her.

A joyful cry came from the house, one of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

The kissing couple outside of the house heard it, but only continued to kiss.

That was, until Rich turned the lights on.

Raven was busy glaring at her friends, but Gar turned her away and kissed her again.

They both planned to get revenge later, of course...

But kissing was the main priority now.

* * *

If I didn't make it so clear that Garth and Roy were together, then you have some problems. :)

Hoped you like.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Review!


End file.
